Arc 3 - Lost and Unfamiliar (Unearthly Tether)
After a brief brush with Yash's past, they enter the Shattered Spire and ascend it to the top with some difficulty, eventually escaping from the Guardian of the Portal to Ik'erik'gre. After arriving in Ik'erik'gre and nearly dying immediately, the party find that to meet Zhrakenshina they need the support of three members of the court of Ikisrael, the ruler of Ik'erik'gre. Unluckily, they do know a member of the court; Coros Vell, the man that killed Snelm. They end up agreeing to do three jobs for him in return for him getting them into see Zhrakenshina. During the completion of these tasks they take on two new members to their party; Adora Hawkinsight and Lucirialla Imeroth, daughter of Asguril, due to Asguril submitting to his death, provided that they would take Lucy away from the plane of Ik'erik'gre. After completing these tasks, they briefly meet with Zhrakenshina, who informs them that she too is Tethered as Snelm is and offers them the path she was heading on to deal with that condition; a weapon named Bondbreaker. It has been broken into pieces and she has discovered the whereabouts of three of them, one of which she possesses and gives to them, and lets them know that if anyone knows the location of the last piece, it would be Imatulus One-Eye, who has a great library in the Northern Frosts. They flee the plane with the hilt of Bondbreaker, as their tasks have allowed Coros Vell and his master to begin a coup against Ikisrael and Zhrakenshina does not want them caught up in it. Synopsis Act 3 covers sessions 22 through 39 and technically only lasts 4 days, though they experience 20 days in Ik'erik'gre. The Shattered Spire (Sessions 22-24) Snelm and Jimi are apprehended by an officer in the Royal Guard, Commander Irval. They give him the most dissatisfying reason for their involvement in duel at the ball possible; it seemed fun to them. In a bid to win some credibility with the Commander, Jimi reveals his birth name to Commander Irval: Tharnnien Orval the 9th. The Commander is generous at this show of trust and informs Jimi that a man called Kuornor Aldanaes in Estlarn has put a warrant on the head of Tharnnien Orval the 9th for the murder of Kuornor's father. The group apologise profusely to the Broker and he encourages them to leave for the Shattered Spire before they can put him in any more trouble. So they set off, but at their first night in camp they are waylaid by men that claim to work for Yash's family, the Zlataya. However, with discussions led by a man named Mordenarr, the hostilities cease and the soldiers agree to back off. They journey continues far less eventfully; they have a lovely night singing with some guards at an outpost at Reiche's Fork and they meet some very strange individuals both on the road to Keinen and in Keinen (to the point that they push on to rest outside the Shattered Spire rather than in town). They meet with the Custodians of the Shattered Spire, the standing force of Silver Knights of the Arcanum, and are afforded access to the Spire itself. Before doing so they are informed that from the perspective of those within the Spire, the door will be opened very infrequently as time is ten times faster in there. They immediately feel its affects as it begins to distort the natural flow of time, Jimi especially so. They find the corpse of an adventurer and claim their magic items. They continue to climb the tower and have a very dangerous encounter with an otherworldly puppeteer that seems to have two previous adventurers under its control. In a dire situation, Korrig manages to use the Staff of the Galewalker to sever its control over his friends and end the confrontation, though they spare the life of the puppeteer after it begs them to, revealing that it is not protecting the Spire by choice, but because of arcane geas. They take the two adventurers with them as they continue to ascend, they are Task and Alecia and the duo aid the party in an ensuing fight with a sandstone elemental which they eventually flee from. After they escape the elemental, they find a place away from it all to rest and Task and Alecia get cold feet on heading into the plane beyond the Shattered Spire and decide to try and leave through the tower exit. The party ascend the to the uppermost floor and encounter a guardian of sorts for the tower and though it is heavily damaged, it packs a punch. The party narrowly escape through the planar portal, with it following, and find themselves in the plane they would find out is called Ik'erik'gre. They hide from the pursuing guardian in some nearby caves, but find it already occupied. Velled Threats (Sessions 25-30) The party are nearly overrun by strange acid-spewing insects, Snelm barely surviving, but they are aided by a strange hamster-like being that refers to himself as Stanley Prosci and as the knight of Zhrakenshina. As he guides them to the main settlement of the area, Ayn'Irosh, he tells them of the plane (like the fact that they are currently atop a giant insect called Og'Irosh) and what they will need to do to meet Zhrakenshina: acquire the support of two members of the court of the ruler of Ayn'Irosh, Ikisrael. He informs them of viable candidates that are likely to help outsiders and also some particularly troublesome members of the court; these troublesome members are Carava, the leader of the Esk, and Coros Vell, deputy ambassador from the Tyrant. Stanley's reception within the settlement is less than welcoming, he reveals that him and Zhrakenshina are not well-liked. They are introduced to the Court of Ikisrael, finding out that Ikisrael itself seems to be a giant brain with tendril appendages, it forces them to kneel upon their entry and pays them practically no mind. After their audience they are visited by Coros Vell and though they try to ignore him, Yash spoils this attempt by engaging him in conversation. He makes an offer to them, if they do three tasks for him then he will get them court support for their request to see Zhrakenshina. He asks them to find a certain rebel and coax the information of where the main rebel forces are, to use this information to find the rebel camp and then to recover a weapon from the wastes. He promises that they do not have to kill the rebels in the camp. The group do not wish to do this for him and leave to see if their other option to sway the court, Carava, is viable. Carava offers two of the same missions, to find and coax the rebel camp information and then to find the rebel camp, but he wishes for the group to raid the camp itself and kill its occupants. They decide to reject the offer and find a place to stay and think on their alternatives. Whilst gathering information around town, Jimi meets with a white dragonkin called Resh, who helps them find an inn to stay in. In the inn Yash meets and challenges a cosivn woman called Iska to who can lift a table higher, Yash enlarges herself to get the upper hand, but Iska uses the very ground beneath them to lift their target even higher. They enjoy each other's ingenuity and are fast friends. Whilst staying at the inn, Korrig and Jimi question Resh further, finding out that he was banished to Ik'erik'gre by a wizard, how difficult it can be to leave Ik'erik'gre and recruiting him to help them down in the wastes. A messenger of Coros Vell visits them and lets the party know that if they are interested in Vell's offer, to meet him in a nearby restaurant the next day. They attempt to rest that eve, only to discover some dead folk outside their doors after hearing sounds, but the management is uncaring. Jimi and Snelm head to meet Coros Vell the next day, whilst Yash and Korrig go to the palace grounds to train and meet with Stanley. Yash is relatively successful in her sparring and whilst Korrig is less successful in sparring with Stanley, he manages to get some information from him about their predicament, including that Zhrakenshina can offer them a way out of the plane. Jimi and Snelm agree to do the various jobs for Coros Vell, though in return for information the fate of his, Jimi agrees to assist Vell during his time in Ik'erik'gre, chiefly by killing Asguril Imeroth. Coros Vell puts the party up in the Tyrant's Embassy (as negotiated by Snelm) and offers to show Jimi some of what awaits him if his soul is claimed by the Nightmare. Jimi tentatively accepts and brings Korrig in as backup, he suffers greatly in his brief exposure to the Nightmare and strikes Coros Vell when he is taunted by the tyrling. They head down into the wastes of Ik'erik'gre the next day, but Jimi is so affected by what he has seen that he veers off course and crashes, pulled within the Nightmares that hunt him. The group move to save him, quickly dispatching the earth elemental that moves to impede them with the unexpected help of Kew, or at least a spectre of him that issues from Snelm's Tethered arm. They descend into a cavern, a hole in the wasteland, pushing through various runes of magical power, lava elemental spiders and the lava they spawned from, before coming across the unconscious form of Jimi, with a large green Death Worm and some scant worm hounds that feed of its victims. They defeat it, but Yash's axe is corroded to uselessness by the blood of the Death Worm. As Snelm tries to get information from Kew, but he simply responds by casting a spell on the party to help them escape the cave before disappearing. Moments after Kew vanishes, the unconscious form of Adora Hawkinsight falls into the clearing. They discuss with her who she is and where she came from (with her tied up for the duration), before deciding that there isn't much they can do but bring her with them. During this time, Jimi wakes back up, bleeding from a wound that did not exist previously on his back. They hear a voice from beyond them, calling them further into the cave, the voice that claims to be Asguril. He offers them his life, if they do him a favour and submit to a test, that he may ascertain whether they can be trusted with that favour. As they move through the narrow passage, they are each confronted by visions of their past, with Asguril observing and asking about what it means to them. Korrig talks to Abbess LiuSong about his anger and how far tranquility can temper it, with her recommending that he travel and deal with adversity, to truly temper his anger. Snelm sees his birth parents and the moment he knew of their passing, his adoptive parents and the moment he accepted them and the parents of Nicolas Stonebreaker, as he delivered the news of his passing. Adora sees visions of her grandfather and Mercy Greyshine, the girl that shot her. Yash sees her separation from Zhrakenshina. Finally, Jimi sees what he saw in the Nightmare, but as his life moves past the awful beginnings and to his encounter with Korrig, the start of some meaning to it all. Characters Player Characters: * Jimi Jostar * Korrig * Snelm Brightstone * Yasheritska * Adora Hawkinsight Non-Player Party Members * Lucirialla Imeroth, or Lucy * Resh, Silver Dragonkin Slayer * Elessa Alcroft Non-Player Characters: * The Broker * Commander Irval * Dryll, the Gnommish Inventor * Captain Morris, of the Zlataya family guard * Mordenarr, the Rashiid * Task, Knight of the Lady's Wings * Alecia * Stanley Prosci, Knight of Zhrakenshina * Coros Vell, Hand of the Tyrant * Ikisrael, or Planecrosser Orseid * Carava, Head of the Erin'va * Resh, Silver Dragonkin Slayer * Iska, Cosivn Kineticist * Asguril Imeroth, traitor to the Tyrant * Arvyl, Innkeep * Zhrakenshina * Ido, the Debt Collector * Uru, friend of Iska * Sol, the Tyrant's Ambassador * Dlago Orivisili * Caryll Orivisili * Lady Alisandre, Queen of the Esk Guest Characters * Kew Dahm Locations * Tasir, Nemar County ** Reiche Outpost ** Keinen ** The Shattered Spire * Ik'erik'gre **Ayn'irosh **Asguril's Home **The Esk Encampment **The Buried Keep Category:Unearthly Tether Category:Unearthly Tether - Sessions